Barbie House

So- growing up, I was OBSESSED with playing Barbies. My BFF and I would play and play not only for hours, but days on end! Seriously... we played 3-4 days straight several times growing up. We didn't have all the coolest Barbie houses, so we had to use our imagination and make houses out of items that were laying around. We used pieces of 2x4's that were cut down as vanities. We used Dixie cups to hold up the vanity and they also doubled as stools. We made school books out of notebook paper. We used our pool table as their school. The pockets were their lockers. WE WERE CREATIVE. Looking back- I would NOT CHANGE A THING!!!

Now-a-days, the kids want to do EVERYTHING electronic. iPods, Kinect, Netflix, Moshi Monsters, iPad, etc. etc. etc.... I am hoping to instill the power of creativity in my girls. Now Addison is already 10-going-on-16, and Jenna is 8 1/2. We are truly in the thick of the Barbie-playing years. In a few years, my girls will start to outgrow Barbies. (Honestly, if I didn't step in now... they would outgrow these years in a matter of months.)

You see, I blame myself for their lack of desire when it comes to playing Barbies. When I found out I was blessed with two daughters, I quickly got all my old Barbies and all their belongings and gave them to my daughters. They were at the ripe old age of 3 and 4 years old. (Take it from me... that's too young to appreciate the value of ANYTHING.) Needless to say- those "keepsakes" were quickly ruined. We gave up Barbies before my oldest turned 5.

Once we were past chewing off Barbie's feet (a stage that Jenna was in for YEARS!), we slowly started re-introducing Barbies back into the girls lives. They would get one or two for a birthday or Christmas present. They would get a few extra changes of clothes. Nothing over the top. No furniture and not enough boy barbies for sure. (Seriously, can three Barbie's all be in love with the same Ken? I think not.) So the girls never really wanted to play Barbies. They were not equipped with all the fun gadgets, boy barbies, and clothes that I had as a child.

Which brings me to the reason for this post... For Jenna's birthday this year, I am going to MAKE her, (Yes... you read that correctly..) a Barbie House. I am super excited about this project. I went out today to get supplies. I hope this present is memorable for Jenna and means so much to her that she will want to pass it down to her daughters one day.

My grandparents made a dollhouse for Addison when she was a baby. I requested it, of course. My grandfather loved constructing dollhouses and my grandmother decorated them. Hand-painted rugs, walls, pictures, furniture, curtains, etc. I was so thrilled to receive this dollhouse. We do not use this house because it has too much meaning now. We used to display it in our finished basement, but now we just keep it in storage. (If a dollhouse is displayed, it is too hard not to play with it...) My grandfather passed away a few years ago and my grandmother took a turn for the worse. She is still with us, but is not the same spunky grandma she used to be after her many strokes and heart attacks. That dollhouse is so meaningful. It reminds me of them. I am so grateful that I will be able to pass that down to Addison one day.

How fair is that for Jenna though? So, that is why I decided to make my own dollhouse for her. I am making it super sturdy so she can play with it and make memories with it. Then, when she is older, she can share that love with her own daughter.

Stay tuned for updates on the dollhouse. I will be posting them here. Completely from scratch... completely from the bottom of my heart.